Automatic music management methods and system

ABSTRACT

A method of managing a song on a computer jukebox is provided. The method includes transferring a song from a data center to a temporary cache in a digital memory of the computer jukebox in response to a user selection, and transferring the song from the temporary cache to a local file in the digital memory according to a predetermined criteria.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/843,574, filed Aug. 22, 2007, entitled “Automatic MusicManagement Methods And Systems,” currently pending, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/841,538, filedSep. 1, 2006, entitled “Automatic Music Management Methods and Systems.”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditionally, jukeboxes were large machines containing a collection ofvinyl records or compact discs (CD's) and a record player or CD playerto play songs selected by users. Because these jukeboxes were mainlylocated in public establishments, such as bars and restaurants,routinely updating conventional jukeboxes was a lengthy and cumbersometask, requiring routemen to travel to each jukebox location to replaceoutdated recordings with up-to-date records or CD's.

The development of computer jukeboxes provided a major advance in easeof music management for jukeboxes because the songs in a computerjukebox are stored in digital format on a digital memory. Therefore,because computer jukeboxes no longer require cumbersome records or CD's,computer jukeboxes may be very small and may be located in a widevariety of public and private locations. Furthermore, computer jukeboxesare not limited to playing music, but may play songs, videos, and otherforms of entertainment (“entertainment content”). As used herein, theterm “song,” “music,” “album,” or “video” also refers generally toentertainment content. Essentially, any computer system capable ofplaying entertainment content on demand or in any automated fashion is acomputer jukebox.

Computer jukeboxes have an additional advantage regarding entertainmentcontent management in that a computer jukebox may be linked to a datacenter, which can optionally be located remotely, to downloadentertainment content. A computer jukebox administrator may thereforeadd new entertainment content, such as songs or entire albums, to alocal file in the digital memory by selecting and downloading music fromthe data center. Music or other forms of entertainment content stored inthe local file of the digital memory is referred to as “local music”.

An administrator of a conventional computer jukebox must choose whichsongs or albums to download to the local file in the digital memory.Conventionally, the administrator must choose music based on popularityreports generated by the computer jukebox or by fielding requests fromusers. However, these methods are time consuming and imprecise, andtherefore, an administrator may have difficulty choosing the mostpopular music for the computer jukebox users.

The digital memory of computer jukeboxes may store a large number oflocal music files. However, the storage capacity of a digital memory mayonly accommodate a finite amount of music. Therefore, an administratormay need to remove less popular songs or albums before he can add morepopular songs or albums because, in conventional computer jukeboxes,local music is not automatically erased when new local music is storedto the local file of the digital memory. Again, conventional methods ofselecting the least popular music to remove may be time consuming andimprecise.

Another advantage of a digital jukebox is that music stored at the datacenter may be available to be selected for play by a user. Therefore, auser may select a song for play that is not stored in the digitalmemory. Music stored at the data center but not on the digital memory ofthe computer jukebox is referred to as Music On Demand (“MOD”) music. Alarge selection of local music is desirable despite the availability ofMOD music, because users are generally charged more to select a MOD songthan to select a local song, because the content is more readilyavailable (e.g., there is no delay caused by the need to download thesong from the data center), and because songs in the local file canstill be played even if the connection to the data center isdisconnected or faulty.

When a user selects a MOD song for play, the digital song file may bedownloaded from the data center to the digital memory and stored in atemporary cache in the digital memory so that it may be played. Thistype of music is called cached MOD music. The song file may be stored inthe temporary cache while the song is being played, but may be writtenover when a new MOD song is downloaded due to a user selecting a songfor play. The computer jukebox may store a plurality of cached MOD musicfiles in the temporary cache and may play the song from the temporarycache rather than download the MOD selection at subsequent times when auser selects that song. However, songs stored in the temporary cachewill eventually be recorded over and erased when a certain number of newMOD songs are selected for play. This arrangement may lead to theundesirable result in which more popular songs are erased from thetemporary cache while less popular songs are kept indefinitely in thelocal file.

What is needed is an automated way to manage entertainment content on adigital jukebox.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In various exemplary embodiments, the present invention provides asystem and method for managing entertainment content on a computerjukebox. The present invention provides systems and methods for theautomatic transfer of entertainment content to and from a local file ofa digital memory without administrator intervention. Furthermore,entertainment content is automatically added to and removed from thecomputer jukebox according to predetermined criteria (e.g., popularityof the entertainment content, entertainment content specially designatedby the administrator, contractual limits on the amount of entertainmentcontent that may be stored, and limited storage capacity of the digitalmemory).

One embodiment provides a method of managing a song on a computerjukebox, comprising transferring a song from a data center to atemporary cache in a digital memory in response to a user selection; andtransferring the song from the temporary cache to a local file in thedigital memory according to predetermined criteria.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of managingalbums on a computer jukebox, comprising determining the most popularalbums and least popular albums according to predetermined criteria;removing a predetermined number of the least popular albums from thedigital memory if the digital memory has reached a predetermined memorylimit; and adding a predetermined number of the most popular albums notalready in the digital memory to the digital memory.

In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a computer jukeboxsystem, comprising a digital memory for storing a plurality of songs indigital files, the digital memory comprising a temporary cache and alocal file, an audio output unit for playing the plurality of songs, aprocessor for transferring the plurality of songs from the digitalmemory to the audio output unit, a data center comprising at least oneserver for transferring a song to the temporary cache in response to auser selection, and a communication interface for receiving songs fromthe data center; wherein the processor transfers the song from thetemporary cache to the local file according to predetermined criteria.

In another exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a computerjukebox, comprising a digital memory for storing a plurality of songs indigital files, the digital memory comprising a temporary cache and alocal file; an audio output unit for playing the plurality of songs; aprocessor for transferring the plurality of songs from the digitalmemory to the audio output unit; and a communication interface forreceiving songs from a data center, wherein the temporary cache stores asong from a data center in response to a user selection, and wherein theprocessor transfers the song from the temporary cache to the local fileaccording to predetermined criteria.

In another exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a computerjukebox, comprising a digital memory for storing a plurality of songs indigital files; an audio output unit for playing the plurality of songs;and a processor for transferring the plurality of songs from the digitalmemory to the audio output unit, wherein the processor determines themost popular albums and least popular albums based on user selections ofsongs for play, removes a predetermined number of the least popularalbums from the digital memory if the predetermined memory limit hasbeen reached, and adds a predetermined number of the most popular albumsto the digital memory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other aspects of the invention will be betterunderstood from the following detailed description of the invention,which is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a computer jukebox system in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of managing entertainment content on acomputer jukebox in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of managing entertainment content on acomputer jukebox in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of managing entertainment content on acomputer jukebox in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method of managing entertainment content on acomputer jukebox in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method of managing entertainment content on acomputer jukebox in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof and show by way ofillustration specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and that changesto the described embodiments may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary portion of a jukebox system 100 according tothe invention. The jukebox system 100 includes a computer jukebox 10,connected to a data center 20. The data center 20 may be a singlecomputer server or multiple computer servers 20 a, 20 b, 20 c, each ofwhich may include all necessary computer parts for receiving, sending,and processing information (e.g., central processing unit(s), harddrive(s), random access memory, motherboard, etc.) to the computerjukebox 10 and optionally multiple other computer jukeboxes (not shown).When multiple servers 20 a, 20 b, 20 c are used, each may provideparticularized functions, such as communicating with the computerjukebox 10, storing digital music files that can be downloaded by thecomputer jukebox 10, and storing a database containing informationnecessary for managing the computer jukebox 10. The database may alsocontain information for calculating billing and/or royalty payments. Thedata center 20 may be one centrally located data center, a plurality ofdata centers, a series of regional data centers, or a combination ofcentrally located and regional data centers.

The computer jukebox 10 includes at least one digital memory 11 forstoring a plurality of digital music files and information relating tothe stored musical files. The digital memory can include a hard drive, acollection of hard drives, or any other type of memory capable ofstoring digital music files (e.g., RAM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, CD-RW, memorystick, memory cards (CF, SD, XD), jump drive, mp3 player, personaldigital assistant, and cell phone). The digital memory 11 can optionallyinclude a temporary cache 11 a and a local file 11 b. The temporarycache 11 a and the local file 11 b may be physically separated or merelydesignated as separate storage sites.

The computer jukebox 10 also has a display 21, which may displaygraphics, such as album covers, and also displays text such as selectioninstructions and song titles. The display 21 may be in the form of atouch-screen, such that a user can make his selections by pressingpoints on the display 21. Alternatively, a user or administrator mayenter selections or otherwise interact with jukebox 10 using a userinput device 19, which may include a keyboard, mouse, stylus, thedisplay 21, or any other device capable of inputting information intothe computer jukebox 10.

The computer jukebox 10 can also have a processor 12, a communicationinterface 13, and an audio output unit 14 coupled to at least onespeaker 15 for replaying the songs. Speaker 15 may optionally bereplaced by headphones, including but not limited to one or morewireless headphones, for private listening by one or more users. Audiooutput unit 14 may optionally be coupled to a wireless transmitter fortransmission of the audio signal to a plurality of wireless audioreceivers (not shown). The audio output unit 14 may include an audiocard, a digital-to-analog converter, and means for decompressingcompressed, digital files. The processor 12 may perform a variety offunctions, including transferring the songs from the digital memory 11to the audio output unit 14. The processor may also store information tothe digital memory 11 to compile a database containing the number oftimes that each song is played on the computer jukebox 10. The computerjukebox 10 can further include a communication interface for receivingsongs from the data center.

The computer jukebox 10 may optionally include a money detector 17, suchas a coin, bill, and/or credit card acceptor. The money detector 17 caninclude a device for electronic detection of a source of credit ormoney, such as a credit card or a device with a barcode, RFID tag, orany means for transferring payment information to computer jukebox 10.

Turning to FIG. 2, an exemplary method 200 of managing entertainmentcontent on a computer jukebox according to an embodiment of theinvention is depicted.

At step 210, a user selects a MOD song for play on the computer jukebox10 using the user input device 19. At step 220, the processor 12 willdetermine whether the selected MOD song is already stored in thetemporary cache 11 a of the digital memory 11 as a cached MOD song. Ifthe selected MOD song is stored in the temporary cache 11 a, theprocessor 12 will transfer the song to the audio output unit 14 to beplayed in step 230.

If the selected MOD song is not stored as a cached MOD song in thetemporary cache 11 a, the processor 12 will send a request to the datacenter 20 through the communication interface 13 and the selected MODsong will be downloaded to the temporary cache 11 a in step 240. Oncethe selected MOD song is downloaded to the temporary cache 11 a, theprocess will proceed to step 230 to play the song.

Next, at step 250, the processor 12 updates a database containing thenumber of times that songs were played on the computer jukebox 10 byincluding the time that the selected MOD song was played at step 250. Asmentioned above, the database may be stored on the digital memory 11. Inanother embodiment, the database may be stored on a data center 20.After updating the database, the processor 12 performs a computation atstep 260 using the updated information stored in the database todetermine if the selected MOD song meets a predetermined criteria. Ifthe selected MOD song meets the predetermined criteria, the processor 12transfers the selected MOD song, in step 270, from the temporary cache11 a to the local file 11 b in the digital memory 11. If the selectedMOD song does not meet a predetermined criteria, the MOD song remains inthe temporary cache 11 a, as shown in step 280. In one embodiment, afterthe selected MOD song is transferred to the local file 11 b, the entirealbum that the selected MOD song is included in may be transferred tothe local file 11 b.

In one embodiment, the number of MOD songs or albums that may betransferred to the local file 11 b may be restricted due to contractuallimits on the maximum number of local songs or albums that may bedownloaded to the computer jukebox 10 or due to the limited amount ofmemory available in the local file 11 b.

The predetermined criteria may include the number of times the MOD songhas been selected for play by a user. The number of times a MOD song hasbeen selected for play be a user may be calculated with respect to asingle computer jukebox, a network of computer jukeboxes, or a portionof a network of computer jukeboxes. The portion of the network ofcomputer jukeboxes may, for example, include jukeboxes located in aspecific geographic region or jukeboxes owned or operated by one person.

In one embodiment, the predetermined criteria is a predetermined numberof user selections of the MOD song. For example, the MOD song may betransferred to the local file 11 b after the MOD song has been selectedfor play ten times.

In another embodiment, the predetermined criteria is a predeterminednumber of user selections of the song within a predetermined timeperiod. The time period may be any desired time period, such as hours,days, weeks, years, or any increment of such desired time period. Forexample, the MOD song may be transferred to the local file 11 b if theMOD song is selected for play ten times in one week.

In another embodiment, the predetermined criteria includes a calculationto determine whether the song is growing in popularity or losingpopularity. The popularity growth or decline of entertainment contentcan be determined in various ways. For example, the popularity of theentertainment content on a single jukebox or a group of jukeboxes can bemonitored over time to determine the popularity trend. Alternatively,the popularity of entertainment content can be indexed to any of anumber of rating systems (e.g., Billboard top songs, radio airplayindexes, record store sales or downloads (e.g., Amazon, iTunes, etc.).In one embodiment, the predetermined criteria includes a predeterminedchange in a number of user selections over time. For example, the MODsong may be transferred to the local file 11 b if the average change inthe number of times a MOD song is selected during consecutive timeperiods meets a predetermined value. In this way, songs that gainpopularity over time may be added to the local file 11 b, while songsthat are losing popularity may remain in the temporary cache 11 a.

In another embodiment, the predetermined criteria may include orpreclude songs or albums designated by a computer jukebox administratoror a computer jukebox network administrator. For example, anadministrator may designate songs or albums that are known to be populardue to ratings predictors as meeting the predetermined criteriaregardless of the number of times the songs or songs on the albums havebeen selected for play. As another example, an administrator maydesignate a song or album as not meeting the predetermined criteria if,for example, that song or album is known to be offensive or otherwiseunpopular.

In another embodiment, the predetermined criteria may include acalculation involving the number of times the MOD song in apredetermined category has been selected as described in any of theembodiments above. For example, a category can include songs of aparticular musical genre, such as classical music, gospel, jazz, Latinpop, blues, rock, country music, electronic music, holiday music,melodic music, reggae, punk rock, hip hop, rap, movies/Broadway, newage, R&B/soul, and others. Other examples of categories include songsthat contain explicit lyrics, songs with explicit album cover art, songsthat relate to a particular holiday, songs performed by a specificartist or group, songs belonging to the same album, songs released inthe same year or before or after a certain date, acoustical songs, songscontaining lyrics, and songs of a particular length. If the computerjukebox 10 contains entertainment content such as movies, televisionsshows, or video/computer games, the categories can include content thathas been assigned the same maturity rating (e.g. “R”, “PG”, “PG13”, “T”,“E”, etc.). Additionally, an administrator can create a custom categoryand assign whichever songs are desired to that category, even if thesongs have no obvious relationship to each other.

In one embodiment, even if a song were to satisfy a predeterminedcriteria including the number of times the MOD song was played, the MODsong would not be transferred to the local file 11 b unless it was alsoclassified in the predetermined category. For example, the predeterminedcriteria may be such that a song may not be transferred to the localfile 11 b unless that song is categorized as being “country music.”Additionally or alternatively, the predetermined criteria may be suchthat a song may not be transferred to the local file 11 b if it isclassified in a predetermined category. For example, it may be that nosongs that are classified as “classical” may be transferred to the localfile 11 b regardless of how many times a user selects it for play.Multiple predetermined genres may be included in the predeterminedcriteria. In another embodiment, songs in different predeterminedcategories may have different predetermined criteria. For example, asong designated as “classical” may need to be played twenty times beforeit is transferred to the local file 11 b, while a song designated as“rock” may need only be played five times before it is transferred tothe local file 11 b.

Furthermore, in another embodiment, the predetermined categories thatare allowed or disallowed may be selected based on predeterminedcategory selection criteria that may include the number of userselections of songs classified in each category. Similarly to theembodiments described above, the predetermined category selectioncriteria may include a determination of which categories have had apredetermined number of user selections of their songs, a predeterminednumber of user selections within a predetermined time period, or apredetermined change in the number of user selections over time.

Another exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 3 bywhich the least popular songs may be removed when new songs are added.The digital memory 11 of the computer jukebox 10 has finite storagecapacity, and therefore, it may be desirable to remove less popularsongs when adding new songs to the local file 11 b. In the exemplarymethod 300 shown in FIG. 3, if the processor 12 determines that the MODsong meets the predetermined criteria in step 260, the processor 12performs another calculation at step 280 to determine which is the leastpopular song stored in the local file 11 b using a predeterminedcriteria. The predetermined criteria for determining which song is theleast popular may be similar to the embodiments described above and mayinclude a count of the number of times each song was selected by users,the number of times each song was selected by users in a predeterminedtime period, or the change in the number of user selections of each songover time. After the least popular song is determined, that song iserased from the local file 11 b at step 290 to increase the availablememory of the local file 11 b. The least popular song may be erased byactually removing the song from the local file 11 b or may be erased bymerely designating that the song may be written over with otherinformation or songs, for example, as memory is needed for other contentor functions. Alternatively, the processor 12 can determine whether thelocal file 11 b has reached a predetermined memory limit andsubsequently only erase the least popular song from the local file 11 bif the predetermined memory limit has been reached. Then, at step 270,the selected MOD song can be transferred from the temporary cache 11 ato the local file 11 b.

The steps of the various embodiments presented need not be performed inthe order presented in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and may be performed in anysuitable order. For example, the processor may perform the computationin step 260 before or during the time that the selected MOD song isbeing played. Alternatively, the processor may perform the computationin step 260 on all of the cached MOD songs periodically and does notnecessarily need to wait for a user to select the song for play.

An exemplary method 400 of managing entertainment content on a computerjukebox according to another embodiment of the invention is depicted inFIG. 4. A computer jukebox administrator may wish to add songs and/orentire albums of songs to the local file 11 b of a digital jukebox 10.However, other songs or albums may need to be removed from the localfile 11 b to make room for the new songs or albums. In accordance withthis exemplary method, a computer jukebox 10 periodically removes theleast popular songs or albums and adds the most popular songs and/oralbums to the local file 11 b based on the song or album's localpopularity.

In FIG. 4, at step 410, the processor 12 uses the information from thedatabase containing the time that each song is played on the computerjukebox 10 to rank all of the songs or albums stored in the local file11 b in order of popularity. The popularity of the songs may bedetermined based on predetermined criteria similar to the embodimentsdescribed above and may include a count of the number of times each songwas selected by users, the number of times each song was selected byusers in a predetermined time period, or the change in the number ofuser selections of each song over time. The popularity of the albums maybe determined based on predetermined criteria similar to the embodimentsdescribed above and may include a count of the number of times the songsfrom each album were selected by users, the number of times the songsfrom each album were selected by users in a predetermined time period,or the change in the number of user selections of the songs from eachalbum over time.

Next, at step 420, the processor 12 erases a predetermined number of theleast popular songs and/or albums from the local file 11 b. Thepredetermined number of songs and/or albums may include only songs, onlyalbums, or any combination of the two.

At step 430, the processor 12 determines the most popular MOD songsand/or albums containing MOD songs. The popularity of the MOD songs maybe determined based on predetermined criteria similar to the embodimentsdescribed above and may include a count of the number of times each MODsong was selected by users, the number of times each MOD song wasselected by users in a predetermined time period, or the change in thenumber of user selections of each MOD song over time. The most popularalbums containing MOD songs may be may be determined based onpredetermined criteria similar to the embodiments described above andmay include a count of the number of times the MOD songs from each albumwere selected by users, the number of times the MOD songs from eachalbum were selected by users in a predetermined time period, or thechange in the number of user selections of the MOD songs from each albumover time.

At step 440, a predetermined number of songs and/or albums is downloadedfrom the data center 20 to the local file 11 b of the digital jukebox10. The predetermined number of songs and/or albums may be the same asor different then the predetermined number of songs and/or albumserased. In one embodiment, the predetermined number of songs and/oralbums can be determined by contractual limits on the maximum number oflocal songs and/or albums that can be downloaded to the computer jukebox10 or due to the limited amount of memory available in the local file 11b.

An exemplary method 500 of managing entertainment content on a computerjukebox 10 according to another embodiment of the invention is depictedin FIG. 5. In step 450, the processor determines whether there is enoughspace available in the local file 11 b to store the predetermined numberof songs and/or albums to be downloaded. If there is enough space, themethod can proceed to step 430 described above to determine the mostpopular MOD songs and/or albums containing MOD songs and then to step440 to download the predetermined number of songs and/or albums from thedata center 20 to the local file 11 b of the digital jukebox 10. Ifthere is not enough space, the method can proceed to step 410 describedabove to rank all of the songs or albums stored in the local file 11 bin order of popularity, then to step 420 to erase a predetermined numberof the least popular songs and/or albums from the local file 11 b. Themethod can then proceed to step 430 as described above, in which theprocessor 12 determines the most popular MOD songs and/or albumscontaining MOD songs, and step 440, as described above, in which apredetermined number of songs and/or albums is downloaded from the datacenter 20 to the local file 11 b of the digital jukebox 10.

An exemplary method 600 of managing entertainment content on a computerjukebox 10 according to another embodiment of the invention is depictedin FIG. 6. Steps 410, 420, and 450 have been described above. At step630, the processor 12 determines the most popular MOD songs. Thepopularity of the MOD songs may be determined based on predeterminedcriteria similar to the embodiments described above and may include acount of the number of times each MOD song was selected by users, thenumber of times each MOD song was selected by users in a predeterminedtime period, or the change in the number of user selections of each MODsong over time. Then, at step 640, a predetermined number of the albumscontaining the most popular MOD songs are downloaded from the datacenter 20 to the local file 11 b.

The methods described in FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 can be automaticallyimplemented by the processor 12 at predetermined intervals to keep thelocal music of the digital jukebox 10 current. For example, the methodmay be implemented to download three new albums to the local file 11 bat a predetermined interval (e.g., every day, every week, every twoweeks, etc.).

It should be noted that the various embodiments of the present inventiondescribed above can be used in combination with each other to bettermanage the entertainment content of the computer jukebox 10.

The processes and devices described above illustrate preferred methodsand typical devices of many that could be used and produced. The abovedescription and drawings illustrate embodiments, which achieve theobjects, features, and advantages of the present invention. However, itis not intended that the present invention be strictly limited to theabove-described and illustrated embodiments. For example, a jukebox asdescribed above includes any type of machine that is capable of storingand playing music at a users selection, such as computer, an MP3 player,or a game machine. Further, it should be understood that although theembodiments of the invention may be described with reference to “music,”“songs,” and “albums,” that this disclosure should not be limited tosuch and that the various embodiments of this invention may be appliedto any type of entertainment content or grouping of entertainmentcontent that may be stored in digital form and played on demand.Additionally, any modifications, though presently unforeseeable, of thepresent invention that come within the spirit and scope of the followingclaims should be considered part of the present invention.

Thus, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changescould be made to the embodiments described above without departing fromthe broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, thatthis invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed,but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method of managing a song on a computer jukebox, comprising:transferring a song from a data center to a temporary cache in a digitalmemory of the computer jukebox in response to a user selection; andtransferring the song from the temporary cache to a local file in thedigital memory according to a predetermined criteria.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the predetermined criteria comprises criteria selectedfrom the group consisting of a number of user selections of the song, anumber of user selections of the song within a predetermined time, and achange in the number of user selections of the song over time.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the predetermined criteria further comprisesa predetermined musical genre.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thepredetermined musical genre is selected based on a number of userselections of songs categorized in the predetermined musical genre. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising transferring an album thatincludes the song to the local file in the digital memory.
 6. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: determining the least popular songsstored in the local file according to the predetermined criteria; andremoving a predetermined number of the least popular songs from thelocal file if the local file has reached a predetermined memory limit.7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transferring multiplesongs from the data center to the temporary cache in the digital memoryin response to multiple user selections; transferring the songs thatmeet the predetermined criteria from the temporary cache to the localfile in the digital memory; determining the most popular of the songstransferred from the data center to the temporary cache according to thepredetermined criteria; and transferring a predetermined number ofalbums comprising the most popular of the songs transferred from thedata center to the temporary cache.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinthe predetermined number of albums is transferred once during apredetermined time period.
 9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:determining the least popular albums stored in the local file based on anumber of user selections of songs included on each album; and removinga predetermined number of the least popular albums from the local fileif the memory of the local file has reached a predetermined limit.
 10. Acomputer jukebox system, comprising: a digital memory configured tostore a plurality of songs in digital files, the digital memorycomprising a temporary cache and a local file; an audio output unitconfigured to play the plurality of songs; a data center comprising atleast one server configured to transfer at least one song of theplurality of songs to the temporary cache in response to a userselection; a communication interface configured to receive the pluralityof songs from the data center; and a processor configured to transferthe plurality of songs from the digital memory to the audio output unit;the processor transferring the at least one song of the plurality ofsongs from the temporary cache to the local file according to apredetermined criteria.
 11. The computer jukebox system of claim 10,wherein the predetermined criteria comprises criteria selected from thegroup consisting of a number of user selections, a number of userselections within a predetermined time, and a change in the number ofuser selections over time.
 12. The computer jukebox system of claim 10,wherein the data center transfers multiple songs to the temporary cachein response to multiple user selections.
 13. The computer jukebox systemof claim 10, wherein the processor automatically transfers the pluralityof songs from the temporary cache to the local file according to thepredetermined criteria.
 14. The computer jukebox system of claim 10,wherein the data center transfers a predetermined number of albums tothe digital memory.
 15. The computer jukebox system of claim 14, whereinthe albums that are transferred are albums that include songs that mostexceed the predetermined criteria and that are not already stored in thelocal file.
 16. A computer jukebox, comprising: a digital memoryconfigured to store a plurality of songs in digital files, the digitalmemory comprising a temporary cache and a local file; an audio outputunit configured to play the plurality of songs; a processor configuredto transfer the plurality of songs from the digital memory to the audiooutput unit; and a communication interface configured to receive theplurality of songs from a data center, wherein the temporary cachestores a song from the data center in response to a user selection andthe processor transfers the song from the temporary cache to the localfile according to a predetermined criteria.
 17. The computer jukeboxsystem of claim 16, wherein the predetermined criteria comprisescriteria selected from the group consisting of a number of userselections, a number of user selections within a predetermined time, achange in the number of user selections over time.
 18. The computerjukebox of claim 16, wherein the data center transfers multiple songs tothe temporary cache in response to multiple user selections,
 19. Thecomputer jukebox of claim 16, wherein the processor automaticallytransfers the plurality of songs from the temporary cache to the localfile according to the predetermined criteria.
 20. The computer jukeboxof claim 16, wherein the data center transfers a predetermined number ofalbums to the digital memory, the albums that are transferred are albumsincluding songs that most exceed the predetermined criteria and that arenot already stored in the local file.